15 Little Things

About a week ago, we celebrated Yen’s birthday. As some of you may already know, she is very headstrong, daredevilish, and without a doubt, free spirited and a lot braver than I am. For instance, her birthday wish this year was to take on the Nevis Bungy in Queenstown. Naturally, being terrified of heights, I found my belly butterflies transforming into a giant Mothra as I peered into the valley below from a 134 meter platform.

Jumping into mid-air felt like a cerebral shock. It erases any hope, suspends all reason, and proves our serious inability to fly.

Along with a twistedly fulfilled wish, there are two essential things that you have to consider for any birthday: the cake and the dinner. My cake to her was unique in its own way. One, because it was a collected creation of personalized cupcakes. Two, because I pretty much destroyed them. In an attempt to save some moolah, I mistakenly bought trick candles that automatically relight. We didn’t actually realize this until after 10 minutes of trying to blow them out and filling the entire house with smoke. Some good laughs there. Dinner was a much more elegant evening filled with joyous laughter, friends, memorable toasts, and bombtastic desserts.

I’ve always spent a lot of time worrying about the big things. Nowadays, I’ve come to realize that the big things do matter, but what matters even more are the little things. They help you appreciate the birthday of that loved one and appreciate the time you’ve spent with them. They also renew hopes for that time to be stretched ten fold. Here are my 15 little things from Yen’s 2013 birthday:

15) Yen and I trying to blow out my trick candles before they caught the cupcakes on fire

14) Yen shoving cupcake and frosting in my face and ears

13) Helping each other get over our bungy fears and taking the plunge together

12) Using five dollar vouchers for a cheap dinner and drink date

11) Our walk during sunset around the Queenstown coastline

10) Marveling at how spectacular her eyes shone in sunlight

9) Failed attempt to find dessert at 1am and ending up with a Starbucks Strawberry Frap

8) Morning cuddle/nap after a sleepless night at a backpackers (very “loud” roommates)